Most businesses hold some form of intellectual property, and often it is one of the most valuable assets the business possesses. If your business has some intellectual property, then you need to review whether any of it is or should be protected.

There are four main kinds of intellectual property which can be protected:

1. •Inventions - which you may be able to patent and prevent someone using for up to 20 years
   

2. •Designs - which can be protected by design right or by design registration
   

3. •Property – these include publications and recordings, which can be protected by copyright
   

4. •Name or symbols for your product or service - these can be protected through a trade mark registration.
   

The rights attaching to intellectual property generally belong to whoever created it, and at Hodge & Co. we can help with:

1. •Determining what type of intellectual property your business has and whether it should be protected -  even if you have an invention, it may not be worth protecting unless it is commercially viable
   

2. •Advising as to how you can go about protecting your intellectual property and clarifying the process and costs involved - obtaining legal protection in this area can be extremely expensive and time consuming
   

3. •Providing guidance as to how you can protect yourself when entering commercial agreements with third parties in relation to your intellectual property - you can do this by putting in place firm non-disclosure agreements and applicable licensing arrangements.